Depending on your perspective, the Nintendo Wii U is currently in the Dark Ages. The console’s lifetime sales have already been surpassed by the PS4 and Wii U in the UK despite having been on sale for a year. In a new report by Bloomberg, both next-gen consoles along with mobile platforms are detracting interest from the Wii U and analysts are starting to predict that ¥57 billion in profits for the console. Year-end sales are estimated at 6.2 million units worldwide.
Considering how Nintendo had predicted 9 million units, that’s not good news. In an email statement (via VG247), Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter stated that, “[Nintendo] steadfastly refuse to consider that the product is not interesting to consumers. They will fail to hit 9 million, and they will likely miss their profit goals.”
Even industry professionals like Former BigBig Studios dev Kenny Linder stated that Nintendo no longer knows what the market wants, commenting on Sony’s Knack outselling Super Mario 3D World in the UK on its debut. Can it bounce back in time for Christmas? We’ll find out in the coming weeks.